What Is the Water Conservation Calculator?

The Water Conservation Calculator (WCC) is a free, web-based decision-support tool used to illustrate how specific water conservation measures can yield both fiscal and physical water savings for communities.

The WCC produces charts and a printed report intended to support the case for water conservation when presented to decision makers.

Other key functions of the WCC include:

providing useful information on the current state of the water system;

offering a “snap shot” of future demands and the positive impacts of conservation on those demands;

assisting in more accurately targeting conservation efforts, thereby increasing the cost effectiveness of conservation initiatives; and

assisting in decision making around new infrastructure by illustrating the possibility of capital deferment.

The WCC is designed for use by small to mid-size communities; however the WCC may be useful to any community wanting to conserve water.

Using the Water Conservation Calculator

The WCC is easy to navigate, with instructional text to help guide the user through each of the fi ve modules. Technical support is also available through the ‘help’ function.

A basic understanding of the community water system is necessary to use the WCC. Before beginning, community and water system data will need to be collected. Data requirements have been categorized as mandatory and optional.

The WCC is designed to provide value using only mandatory data, however including optional data will improve results. Some mandatory data fi elds include:

service population;

projected annual population growth rate;

total annual water supply capacity;

maximum daily supply capacity;

total annual water demand; and

annual water system budget.

The time required to gather data will depend on the level of detail and the availability of the data being collected. Once the selected data have been collected, approximately half an hour should be reserved to complete the existing system profi le in the WCC.

Once the existing system profi le is complete, users have the option to examine a variety of conservation measures. The WCC includes costeffective conservation measures for the residential, commercial, institutional and industrial sectors.

The WCC provides the opportunity to create multiple reports, allowing the user to compare and contrast the savings gained from a combination of different conservation measures.

Benefits of the Water Conservation Calculator

Water conservation plays a critical role in managing water resources. The WCC is designed to help B.C. communities take positive action towards conservation.

Using the WCC will allow users to:

collect and record community water system data;

prepare useful information about the current state of the water system and future demands;

compare the water savings from water conservation to supply-side upgrade options;

compare the costs of water conservation to supply-side upgrade options;

assist in decision making around new infrastructure by illustrating the possibility of capital deferment;